I’ve been trotting the globe in pursuit of wine, food and travel stories for over 13 years. From the vineyards of New Zealand to the press houses of Champagne, I’ve met a world of fascinating people who have stories to share. In between adventures I review restaurants for The Atlantan and contribute to several global and national outlets including: USA Today, Decanter, Men’s Book and TravelChannel.com. I've also co-authored a travel guide (The Everything Guide to Ireland), edited a city guide for Atlanta (Northstar Media) and worked as a Senior Editor at The Wine Report. I was recently awarded the MAGS Association Magnolia Award for excellence in writing and editing and currently hold a Wine and Spirits Education Trust Intermediate Certificate.

Female Winemakers: Oregon's Lynn Penner-Ash

Trail blazers are often too busy blazing trails to toot their own horns, and Lynn Penner-Ash, winemaker for Penner-Ash, is certainly no exception As one of Oregon’s first female winemakers, she’s spent 30 years learning the ropes in the wine business. After getting her start at Stag’s Leap in Napa, Penner-Ash left for Oregon (in 1988) to start work at Rex Hill winery. Along the way she and her husband slowly nurtured the Penner-Ash brand. A brand that has grown from a mere 125 cases of Pinot Noir in 1998 to today’s production of roughly 9,000 cases of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Viognier and Riesling.

As a veteran winemaker, she agrees that Oregon’s wine industry has seen its share of changes over the years, but the biggest change she observes: tasting room traffic. “When I first started in Oregon the tasting room celebrated if we had at least one customer a day! Now we are finding demand from our customers to be open year round.”

She also loves the science in wine and the fact that what she makes is something that brings happiness to others. And, as for wines that she’d like to see more of in Oregon? Riesling and Syrah.

What is it about working with wine that makes you happy?

Wine is alive. It’s always evolving and presenting a different experience each time we taste. I enjoy sitting down and tasting a wine the day it goes to barrel and imagining what this wine will eventually become and how many people’s lives it might touch. Even to this day (after 32 years of winemaking) I am still in awe of how many people we make happy with what we do – and that makes me happy!

Why were you drawn to make wine?

I have always been a scientist. Even at the age of 6, I’d spend my day looking at flowers and all the parts that made up such a piece of natural art. I was drawn to the beauty of nature but was intrigued by the science behind it. Wine to me combines those loves into a product that can be enjoyed by many for a long time to come.

Why is Pinot Noir better to work with than say, Cabernet Sauvignon?

Having worked with Cabernet when I was in the Napa Valley, I can say that Pinot Noir presents a greater challenge as a winemaker. It is such a delicate grape, you have to be in tune with your vineyards and your winemaking so as not to destroy the intrinsic qualities of the grape.

What other grapes are you finding good results from in Oregon?

Riesling is a favorite of mine. I’ve been working with Riesling since the late ’80s, making an extremely austere style of wine. It is really nice to see more and more wineries working with Riesling in a more serious way.

I also think that Syrah is a great Southern Oregon varietal. Unfortunately, Syrah gets a bad rap for being made fat and juicy and often times dull. We make ours with delicacy and focus (and a bit of Viognier added), so many guests taste our Syrah and are excited to see a Syrah that is so lively and food friendly.

What other varietals do you think have potential in Oregon?

I am excited to see people working with Albarino. A dear friend of mine was the first to start working with this varietal in California and I am fascinated with the wines he’s made and would love to see what we can do with that grape in Oregon.

Describe the biggest change in Oregon’s wine industry over the past decade.

There are several big changes in the last decade from farming practices to sales but the biggest is probably tasting room traffic. When I first started in Oregon the tasting room celebrated if each day we had at least one customer! Now we are finding demand from our customers to be open year round. Tourism in the Oregon industry has increased which has brought exceptional overnight accommodations such as the Allison Inn and Spa along with fine dining at places like The Painted Lady, Red Hills Market, Jory, Joel Palmer House, Nick’s, etc. It is so wonderful to see guests in our tasting room. We typically close the month of January and by the end of the month we are quite lonely, waiting for the return of the tasting season!

Which wine in your portfolio is the most unique (in terms of style) and why?

Our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. It is our reserve flagship wine, the wine that is available to all markets. It has always been our philosophy that the Willamette Valley bottling is a reserve bottling from multiple sites. We focus on high end vineyards, farm them with a focus on quality and ferment and age them separately. The blending process takes 8 weeks as we strive to put together the most representative of the vintage and consistent blend each year. Most people will experience their first taste of Penner-Ash Pinot Noir with this wine so we are diligent about crafting a wine that represents who we are and what we feel is our style.

If you weren’t making wine for a living what would you want to do instead?

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